The election is over, and I sense there's something of a gloomy spirit in many conservative corners of the country this morning.
Analysts and pundits, and even the candidates themselves, billed this year's contest as a crossroads of great consequence. They were right.
As many Christians who see the confluence of our faith and the many issues of culture, we poured our hearts and souls into this year's election. We donated our time. We made phone calls. We helped to register and educate new voters. We prayed.
And how could we not? The stakes were sky high.
In casting a vote for President Obama or his challenger, Governor Mitt Romney, Americans were either affirming or rejecting a very specific governing philosophy.
Of equal importance, we were also passing judgment on the respective candidate's ideology concerning some of the critical issues of our day.
So now the electorate has spoken. President Obama has won the Electoral College with a comfortable margin, but only by a slim margin in the popular vote. The long campaign is finally over.
But here is a fact...the most important calling of my life - and yours - continues.
It may feel like everything has changed and that the way forward has been dashed. But the reality is quite the opposite. That's because the greatest challenges facing the family still rage red hot. Our hands and our hearts are needed more than ever before in our nation's history.
Awhile back I asked former President George W. Bush to identify the most significant threat to the United States of America. I thought he would say it was terrorism. He answered immediately and without equivocation: the deterioration of the family.
He's absolutely correct and this is where our work needs to focus now...
Helping marriages, parents and introducing people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And so while elections have major consequences, one thing remains crystal clear to me as the sun rises on a new day. It's time to rededicate ourselves to the mission of the moment: to rebuild the American family and renew our hope in the God in whose hands we rest, "safe and secure from all alarm." It's time to continue our effort to make sure that every person, however small, is protected under law. It's time to again remind those who support abortion that life is the better choice! It's time to recommit ourselves to championing adoption and reforming a broken foster care system. It's time to be bold and stand stiffly into the wind of popular culture and point to the extraordinary benefits of children being raised in homes with one mom and one dad.
Simply put, it's time to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
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excerpt from Jim Daly's article on the Focus on the Family website
